Shaping long-term smart-grid strategy.
Andy Trump is an executive consultant for Enspiria Solutions, a Black & Veatch company. Previously he worked on power plant development for Duke Energy North America.
Smart grid has emerged as a cornerstone of the United States’ new energy policy, and utilities are wrestling with how to give shape and coherence to specific project opportunities. Lots of attention goes to those utilities that have received American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding—with dollars mostly focused on advanced metering solutions—but equally important for the community are the hundreds of utilities that didn’t receive grants. For these utilities, and for the grant recipients looking at capturing follow-on investments, constructing a meaningful business case will become a central effort.
The business case accomplishes a number of goals. Most important, it provides a justification for making or deferring the investment. It also illuminates potential future scenarios and factors that affect the business. The work helps the utility gain a better understanding of what is becoming a rapidly evolving and complex set of conditions, requirements and risks.